The announcement for the request to hear Minister Manuel Castro Almeida was made by the vice-president of the PSD parliamentary group and former Secretary of State for Health Management, Cristina Vaz Tomé, during a statement to journalists in parliament.
“This request follows public communications made by the PS which have caused alarm regarding the use of PRR funding allocated to Portugal,” she explained.
According to the deputy, the revision of the PRR submitted last Friday to the European Commission aims to ensure that Portugal “can benefit as much as possible from the planned funding, and processes can be expedited,” by reviewing goals and objectives.
“There will be no loss of funding; Portugal will be able to access financing under the same conditions as the grant foreseen in the PRR, but with the possibility for investments to be made over a much longer period, complying with the proposals and projects of Portuguese companies and entities,” she said.
Asked about the situation of Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, the former deputy stated she was only available to address questions related to the PRR and this request for a hearing.
On Sunday, PS Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro argued that the Government should explain to the country why it considered it necessary to abandon some of the projects planned in the PRR, considering that this revision was a “blow to the modernization” of the Welfare State.
Speaking to journalists during the inauguration of the president of the Póvoa de Lanhoso City Council in Braga, José Luís Carneiro stated that the proposed revision will cut “more than 40 million euros in health,” “235 million in education,” “250 million euros” in social support for home, continuing, and palliative care, and “almost 300 million euros in transport and mobility.”
“This is a serious error for which the Government must answer to the Portuguese. It must explain the reasons and the basis for diverting these resources,” he demanded.
On Monday, the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion assured that all PRR grants will be used, with “not a euro left uninvested,” and that the planned works will be carried out.
“There is a part of the PRR that consists of loans we will not use; we will seek other sources that have cheaper interest rates, but no project planned in the PRR will be left undone,” the minister emphasized.
According to Castro Almeida, the metro line case exits the PRR “because there wasn’t enough time to implement it within the deadlines,” and the Todos os Santos Hospital is no longer financed with a PRR loan “because there wasn’t enough time to execute it within the deadline.”
“But the Todos os Santos Hospital will continue, the metro’s red line will continue, so the works will be done. All the money given by the European Union will be utilized; only a component of loans, which won’t be from the European Commission but from international markets at an equivalent interest rate, without any disadvantage for the State,” he highlighted.
